Historic District

Hope Historic District

The Hope and Sunrise Historical Society was key to the placement of the Hope Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. Rosemarie Kneckt Levine, Janet McCabe, and other volunteers worked hard to make that possible. The designation, plus the knowledge that Hope is the best preserved gold rush community in South-central Alaska, is a source of local pride. In 1998, Diane Olthuis completed the Hope Historic Building Survey with a grant from the Alaska Humanities Forum. HIstorian Dr. Rolfe Buzzell provided much assistance. The report produced from that study is available for $18 plus postage from: HSHS, P. O. Box 88, Hope, Alaska 99605.

Sunrise City HIstoric Archaeological District

In 1994, historian Dr. Rolfe Buzzell and a group of volunteers mapped and photographed over 200 features at the site of what was Sunrise City. That year, Buzzell also edited and published Memories of Old Sunrise, (A. W. "Jack" Morgan's memoir of 1897-1901). The Sunrise City Historic Archaeological District, including the old townsite and Point Comfort Cemetery, were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997. Sunrise City is one of the most important archaeological sites in South-central Alaska associated with the gold rush era. The townsite is on private land and can not be visited without permission. With property owner permission, the Hope and Sunrise Historical Society and Rolfe Buzzell have conducted four walking tours of the Sunrise ruins. Copies of Memories of Old Sunrise are available for $18 plus postage from: HSHS, P. O. Box 88, Hope, Alaska 99605.

Point Comfort Cemetery Heritage Resource Land

Point Comfort Cemetery (SEW-195) sits on state land, along Sixmile Creek. Dennis Sammut brushed Sunrise's Point Comfort Cemetery in 1992, and Dr. Rolfe Buzzell mapped it in 1993. Buzzell and other volunteers installed replacement headboard in 1994-1995. The State of Alaska recognized the site as Heritage Resource Land in 1996, closing it to mining. Dr. Buzzell published a report on the project in 1996. In 2017, the name of an unmarked grave was identified as Tallef Hammers of Norway. To learn about how that mystery was solved, visit Cold Case: Book Helped Find A Stampeder's Final Resting Place.

Captain G. J. G. Brandt Grave Site

Captain Brandt's grave site (SEW-1162) sits about one mile west of the mouth of Sixmile Creek. It overlooks Turnagain Arm. Captain Brandt died in 1896 while transporting gold seekers to Sunrise. His crew buried him on shore, marking the nearby tree. Later, the family sent a stone marker to the site. The gravestone was stolen in the 1970s, and given to the Alaska Mason Library and Museum. The grave site was identified as a feature of historic significance in 2004. Volunteers brushed the trail and the stone was returned to the site. Sixty-two people gathered at the grave site on October 2, 2005 for a Masonic memorial service. Dr. Rolfe Buzzell published a report on the project in 2006.